The rooster crowed outside the window, signaling that daylight had come. On my bed I turned, facing the window. It had been two days. Now the third had just arrived. I had been crying my heart out for the past two days. I was not sure I had anymore tears in me. They had hung Him. They had hung my son, right in front of me. As He bled and suffered up there, He did not curse them or scold them. All He had said was, forgive them oh Father.
I got up and went into the kitchen to make some breakfast. His disciples were tired too and they would need a good hearty breakfast after such mourning. As I placed the last piece of crepe on the plate, I heard movement outside the door. “Good,” I thought to myself, “They are here already.”
I placed my shawl over my head, took a deep breath. As I opened the door, Salome and Mary Magdalene were sitting on my porch. They looked at me wearily, as if afraid that I might burst into tears again as I had the night before. I gave them a reassuring look.
“Come, let us go before the men wake up.” I said.
“Yes mother, let us make haste. Sal and I have made all the necessary preparations.” replied Magdalene.
As we started our long journey toward the tomb which Joseph had so graciously provided for Jesus, there was no talking. The silence was awkward and heart-wrenching. I guess Magdalene and Salome had much to mourn too. After all, He had blessed whoever had come into contact with Him. It took us a while to climb up the steep side of the hill as all the crying had used up my strength. With the help of Magdalene and Salome, I made it up the steep hill and we started walking across the beautiful garden near the tomb where Jesus had often visited to pray in quiet.
“Mother, what if the guards won’t let us see the body?”asked Salome, bringing me out of my thoughts and back into reality.
“Hush, Sal. Do not speak of such things!” Magdalene said.
“It’s ok Lene,” I replied. “Sal was only saying it out of good intentions. Will they deny a mother from the right of visiting her son’s body?”
“Don’t worry mother. If they don’t allow us in, we shall call fire from heaven to consume them just as Elijah had done so with the king’s guards!” insisted Magdalene.
For the first time in two days, I laughed. Magdalene had always been the one with the mountain-moving-fire-from-heaven faith. There was no more talking as we approached the tomb. The first thing we noticed were, the guards were not there. That was very strange as Caiaphas had ordered the Roman sentry to guard the tomb with their lives. Then we saw the open tomb. The big stone was rolled away, and the doorway was wide open.
“Good Lord!” I said. “What has happened?”
We started running towards the tomb. The adrenaline in my body was pumping, and my heart was thumping. What had happened to my Jesus? Had they taken His body to be burnt? Did they not know that the Jewish tradition was burial? Conniving thieves! How could they?
As we arrived at the tomb, I stopped to take a breath. The three of us peeked in. There was no body. No Jesus. He wasn’t there. I was about to faint when suddenly, there was a bright light inside the tomb.
“Why have you come?” ask a figure standing in the bright light.
“We..we have come to see the Lord,” stammered Salome.
“Then why have you come seeking the Living, in the place of the dead?” asked the figure. He emerged from the light, and we saw his form. He was beautiful! He had a set of wings, golden blonde hair, and a flowing white robe.
“Go,” he continued. “Tell the others, Jesus is risen, just as He said He would.”
“Wh..what?” I questioned. My tone appeared doubtful, but my heart in me leaped. Is it true? Is it really true? Had Jesus really risen from the dead? He had spoke of it to me many times, reassuring me of His resurrection. How could I have doubted it? Gosh, I felt young again. I felt sixteen again. Only this time, I wasn’t giving birth. This time, my son, the Son had risen!
As we walked away from the empty cave, with joy in our hearts and singing on our lips, my whole body quivered with excitement. Long live the King. “This is just the beginning” I told myself, “Just the beginning."
(based on The Resurrection Story in Mark 16)
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Hallelujah
Jesus is alive
Death has lost its victory
and the grave has been denied
Jesus lives forever
He's alive, He's alive!
He's the Alpha and Omega
the First and Last is He
the curse of sin is broken
and we have perfect liberty
Jesus lives forever
He's alive
He's alive
Hallelujah
signing off,
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